Bring your rabbit in the
house to make him or her part of the family like a cat or dog and enjoy his company for many years
- up to 10 or more!
A young rabbit who is not spayed or neutered yet will be the most challenging to
train and care for in your home. It is why many cute
"Easter Bunnies" are relinquished, abandoned or dumped by their
new family every year.

Here's what you need to do:

Have a sense of humor, a
lot of patience and then...

Rabbit-Proof Your
Home

Cover
electrical and phone cords with tubing

Keep
Household chemical, cleaners and other toxic chemicals in a latched cupboard

Place
toxic plants out of reach (and this includes most houseplants)

Keep
the toilet lid down to avoid drowning

Latch
& close doors and windows (rabbits can jump)

Remove
items from the floor that should not be ingested

Install child
gates on doorways into rooms that aren’t “bunny proof” Note:
they will chew right through a plastic gate eventually so
try a wood or better yet, a metal gate instead

Temperature

50
to 75 degrees – Rabbits can overheat and freeze! See page of tips
on keeping your bunny cool at Buns in the Sunon this website.

Housing

Large Cage
or puppy x-pen with solid floor (if you have a wire cage
cover the floor with a solid wood board, hay or towels at
the very least to prevent a condition called "sore hocks."
Rabbits do not have pads on their feet like cats or dogs.
Cages with wires were originated with those breeding rabbits
to be slaughtered within 12 weeks of age.

The "cage"
should be large enough for rabbit to stand up in, stretch and hop around -
get the biggest cage you can find!

A good alternative is a puppy pen
(x-pen) about 24" to 36" high with several 2 foot
wide wire panels. There are lots of creative housing
possibilities. See the Bunny Digs page for ideas!

Bedding:Timothy hay or straw or a Quiet Time kennel pad for
older or disabled rabbits in one corner.

Locate the
rabbit's home in a spot where there is activity – absolutely not a damp basement, garage or
attic!

Get
your rabbit out for exercise everyday for a few hours!Or provide an area around their cage where
they can run - put an x-pen around it. Many
people let
their bunnies have the run of the house like a cat or dog.

Fresh
fruit slices (small bits) as long as rabbit isn’t overweight
such as apples (not the seeds), pears, or peaches/nectarines

Salt
wheel

Chew
toys like safe wood blocks, organic apple twigs, etc.

They
can nibble on your yard if it is free of pesticides
and poisonous plants

Never, ever feed
a rabbit popcorn, cereals and other human treats - they can cause serious
digestive problems possibly leading to death. For
6 pages of information on rabbit diet see Rabbit Diet-
There is information on diet, a diagram of the digestive system and lots
more!

I cannot stress this
enough. If you have a male and female rabbit pair:

A female rabbit can have a litter every 31 days!

Females can become
pregnant the same day they give birth. You do the math! Okay, I'll do it
for you: with only 2 bunnies in each litter in one year that
will equal 288 rabbits. Rabbits can have up 4 to 6
bunnies per litter.

It is
a scary thought and scarier in reality! See your vet about when to spay or
neuter, between 4 and 6 months old for both males and females depending on the
breed.